If You’re Going To Take The Chance, Do It Right: 15 Tips For Successful Dating In The Workplace

A lot of people frown upon dating in the workplace as it can easily get in the way of things and cause a lot of problems if the relationship goes sour. However, we can’t always stop liking or loving the people we’re meant to be with. If you want to date someone in your workplace, here are 15 tips to keep in mind and pull it off as easily as possible.

Don’t let your relationship interfere with your work

When dating in the workplace, your job has to come first. You don’t want your boss or his boss noticing that your relationship is causing you to work at an unsatisfactory level. Make sure you continue to meet all of your deadlines and put your best effort forward.

Prepare yourself for office rumors

No matter where you work, rumors are always running amiss. It’s highly likely that someone is bound to start a rumor or two about your relationship. Don’t let this effect your relationship or your job in the slightest.

Don’t date everyone in the office

It’s one thing to have a relationship with one person in your office, but don’t make it a habit. The office shouldn’t be a dating pool for you to choose from. If a relationship in the office doesn’t pan out, start looking somewhere else!

Make sure PDA stays at a minimum

There’s nothing wrong with expressing your emotions through PDA, but you’ll want to keep the kissing, hugging, and pet names to a minimum. If you’re dying to kiss or hold hands, go out to lunch, or go to a more private place. You don’t want your coworkers catching you being all lovey-dovey!

Don’t become a jealous co-worker

When you start dating a coworker, you don’t want to become the office snoop and you want to avoid becoming jealous. Don’t lurk around the corner when your guy is talking to a female coworker. Don’t question every meeting he goes to and don’t dare question your coworkers with questions about cheating or accusations.

Try dating someone who works in a different location

When you date someone in the same exact office as you, you’ll easily get tired of seeing him so much. Try finding someone who you won’t see on an hourly basis. A different floor or even working in a different office will make things a lot easier.

Avoid the flirty emails

Even if you’re extremely crazy about each other, you don’t want to use company resources and hours to show it. Avoid flirting through emails and instead stick to texting, or avoid it altogether. Remember, any email you write could be read by someone else or read later on in time.

Give each other space

Since you’ll often see each other outside of work, it’s important that while at work, you give each other plenty of space. Spending time apart is crucial in a relationship. This way you’ll value the time you have outside of work when you’re with each other.

Don’t tell your coworkers every nitty gritty detail

While it’s generally never a good idea to let your coworkers know too much about your love life, you definitely don’t want to get into too many intimate details about a coworker with your other coworkers. And talking about your sex life is a little much. Save that for your BFF.

Don’t let work interfere

Just like you don’t want your relationship to interfere with your work, you also don’t want work to ruin your relationship. Leave work drama in the office. While it’s okay to talk about work outside of the business place, don’t let work stress come between you two.

Make your intentions known

If you’re looking for a long-term relationship, tell him off the bat. The same goes for if you’re looking for a hook-up buddy. Put everything out in the open so that you both know what to expect out of the relationship. This will help you avoid narsty rumors, drama, and fights from spilling into the workplace.

Don’t keep it secret

In the office world, you know that everyone notices everything and before you know it, people will know that you two are an item. There is no point in trying to keep your relationship secret in an attempt to fool people. Be honest with people that matter. I.e., if your boss calls you out on it, don’t deny it.

Keep your fights and drama at home

In a relationship you’re bound to fight, and fighting is actually quite healthy, but you don’t want fighting to linger and spill outside of home. You’ll want to make sure that all of your fights and drama stay out of the office. Don’t ever argue with each other at work. It’s not professional at all.

Have an exit strategy

In the event that the relationship ends, you’ll want to have an exit strategy. This way you can both avoid embarrassment, rumors, and so on. The two of you want to decide on how you will deal with a break-up and stick to it. Always plan on an amicable breakup.

Avoid dating a superior

Fact is, you never want to date your boss, or someone who sits higher in the chain compared to you. This can lead to all sorts of claims of favoritism and other office political problems. Stick to someone on your level!